Tillage farmers are now considering their crop mix for 2015, with winter oilseed rape planting just over four weeks away. For many, this will mean changes to the current cropping system due to the implications of greening. Last week, some key decisions on greening were announced by Minister Coveney and Department staff answered many queries from farmers present at the well-attended Crops & Spraying ‘14 event in Kildalton.
What is greening?
Greening is a component of the new CAP which aims to impose obligatory environmental actions on individuals. A 30% portion of the Single Farm Payment is allocated to it and if you fail to comply with the greening requirements, then a further 7% penalty will apply.
As no grower can afford to lose 37% of the Single Farm Payment, it is very important that individuals comply with the different requirements of greening.
There are three specific requirements:
Retention of permanent pasture – this is a matter for the state and not the individual.Crop diversification – this is referred to as the three-crop rule, but some modifications are being considered.Environmental Focus Areas (EFA’s) – this obliges individuals with more than 15ha in tillage to have areas of land or crops that are deemed to be beneficial to the environment.These requirements for both crop diversification and EFA are triggered by the area of relevant crops individual growers have on their farms, as detailed in the following paragraphs.
Crop diversification
This has become known as the three-crop rule, as most growers will need to have a minimum of three crops to comply. It does not force a rotation, but the best way to handle a number of crops may be to use them in rotation.
It is important to note that tillage farmers are primarily targeted by this greening measure. Grassland farmers with more than 75% of the farm area in grass (permanent pasture or temporary grassland) are exempt from greening requirements. Tillage farmers with less than 10ha of crops are also exempt.
For those not exempt, growers with 10ha or greater are obliged to have two crops or more (permanent pasture is excluded as a relevant crop), while growers with 30ha or more are obliged to have at least three crops (Table 1).
In an effort to assist farmers who only grow a single crop, the Minister announced last week that they will be allowed to use an equivalence measure in the GLAS agri-environmental scheme to replace the need for two or three crops to meet the crop diversification requirement.
This option is really only open to spring crop producers to avail of winter crop cover between consecutive spring crops – what we traditionally called green manuring. To avail of this option, growers must participate in the new GLAS scheme and must plant a winter cover crop on all their tillage lands before 1 October in the relevant year.
This will allow single spring crop growers (e.g. malting barley) to meet their crop diversification requirements without the need for additional crops. It will also enable a grower with more than 30ha of arable crops to have only one or two crops where three are required.
The GLAS measure is subject to a separate payment under that scheme but it will be subject to a reduced payment to avoid double funding when used as a crop diversification measure.
The option to use green cover over winter as an equivalence measure to multiple crops (it is seen as having equivalent environmental benefit) must be approached with caution, however. If the green cover over winter measure is used for crop diversification, then it is critical that growers are successful in their GLAS application. If this is not successful, then the crop diversification requirement will not be met and the 30% greening payment will be lost.
EFA eligible areas
Under this requirement, which is separate to crop diversification, all farmers whose holdings include more than 15ha of arable land (crops plus temporary grassland) must have at least 5% of that arable land area accounted for as Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). The regulations give individual countries a wide range of options to choose from to comply with eligible EFA. The areas that will be implemented in Ireland are shown in Table 2.
Most of the options in Table 2 are subject to a conversion factor where that item is deemed to be more advantageous than just its own footprint area. Many are also subject to a weighting factor which could be greater than or less than the actual or converted areas.
For example, one linear metre of a qualifying hedgerow is equal to 10m2 of EFA area (Table 3), i.e. it is given an effective area of 10 square meters per linear meter, providing it qualifies. There is still a lack of certainty as to what qualifies as a hedgerow, but the indications are that it will have to contain woody material.
The use of these conversion and weighting factors will assist growers to meet their EFA requirements, especially from hedges and drains. The conversion and weighting factors used to calculate the EFA are shown in Table 3.
If you have 100m of qualifying hedgerow, it will provide 100 x 10 = 1,000m2 of EFA on a dividing hedge (5m on both sides) and 500 m2 if it is a boundary hedge.
Land lying fallow is treated on a one-to-one basis – 1ha of fallow equals 1ha of EFA. However, fallow must have been involved in a crop rotation during the previous five years.
If you are growing protein crops, then 1ha of crop will only provide 0.7ha of EFA (this started out at 0.3ha). Green cover over winter (not just regrowth) will provide 0.3ha/ha. But green cover used for crop diversification cannot be used to support your EFA obligation. Additional green cover will need to be put in place if both crop diversification and EFA are being provided by this option.
Protein payment
Given the search for viable crop options to meet the new crop diversification requirements, the confirmation of a coupled payment for nitrogen fixing crops announced by Minister Coveney last week is very welcome. The minister announced that a €3m fund has been set aside to recouple protein crops and encourage native protein production.
The recoupling of aid for protein crops was allowed under the rules of the new CAP, which allowed member states to use part of their national ceiling to introduce a coupled aid for protein crops. The objective of this is to counteract the huge dependence on imported protein within the EU for use in animal feeds and this is also an issue in Ireland.
The new €3m fund for coupled protein crop production will operate from 2015. The payment rate will be a maximum of €250/ha. However, if the total area applied for under the scheme is greater than the fund, then the payment per hectare will be reduced in that scheme year to reflect a €3m maximum payout. The protein crops eligible for this coupled aid will be peas, beans and sweet lupins.
The Minister indicated that this incentive should help develop the protein sector through improved varieties and husbandry. And an increased supply of natively produced protein would give Irish livestock farmers the opportunity to use more native protein feed and increase the “greenness” and authenticity of our exported products.
Tillage farmers are now considering their crop mix for 2015, with winter oilseed rape planting just over four weeks away. For many, this will mean changes to the current cropping system due to the implications of greening. Last week, some key decisions on greening were announced by Minister Coveney and Department staff answered many queries from farmers present at the well-attended Crops & Spraying ‘14 event in Kildalton.
What is greening?
Greening is a component of the new CAP which aims to impose obligatory environmental actions on individuals. A 30% portion of the Single Farm Payment is allocated to it and if you fail to comply with the greening requirements, then a further 7% penalty will apply.
As no grower can afford to lose 37% of the Single Farm Payment, it is very important that individuals comply with the different requirements of greening.
There are three specific requirements:
Retention of permanent pasture – this is a matter for the state and not the individual.Crop diversification – this is referred to as the three-crop rule, but some modifications are being considered.Environmental Focus Areas (EFA’s) – this obliges individuals with more than 15ha in tillage to have areas of land or crops that are deemed to be beneficial to the environment.These requirements for both crop diversification and EFA are triggered by the area of relevant crops individual growers have on their farms, as detailed in the following paragraphs.
Crop diversification
This has become known as the three-crop rule, as most growers will need to have a minimum of three crops to comply. It does not force a rotation, but the best way to handle a number of crops may be to use them in rotation.
It is important to note that tillage farmers are primarily targeted by this greening measure. Grassland farmers with more than 75% of the farm area in grass (permanent pasture or temporary grassland) are exempt from greening requirements. Tillage farmers with less than 10ha of crops are also exempt.
For those not exempt, growers with 10ha or greater are obliged to have two crops or more (permanent pasture is excluded as a relevant crop), while growers with 30ha or more are obliged to have at least three crops (Table 1).
In an effort to assist farmers who only grow a single crop, the Minister announced last week that they will be allowed to use an equivalence measure in the GLAS agri-environmental scheme to replace the need for two or three crops to meet the crop diversification requirement.
This option is really only open to spring crop producers to avail of winter crop cover between consecutive spring crops – what we traditionally called green manuring. To avail of this option, growers must participate in the new GLAS scheme and must plant a winter cover crop on all their tillage lands before 1 October in the relevant year.
This will allow single spring crop growers (e.g. malting barley) to meet their crop diversification requirements without the need for additional crops. It will also enable a grower with more than 30ha of arable crops to have only one or two crops where three are required.
The GLAS measure is subject to a separate payment under that scheme but it will be subject to a reduced payment to avoid double funding when used as a crop diversification measure.
The option to use green cover over winter as an equivalence measure to multiple crops (it is seen as having equivalent environmental benefit) must be approached with caution, however. If the green cover over winter measure is used for crop diversification, then it is critical that growers are successful in their GLAS application. If this is not successful, then the crop diversification requirement will not be met and the 30% greening payment will be lost.
EFA eligible areas
Under this requirement, which is separate to crop diversification, all farmers whose holdings include more than 15ha of arable land (crops plus temporary grassland) must have at least 5% of that arable land area accounted for as Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). The regulations give individual countries a wide range of options to choose from to comply with eligible EFA. The areas that will be implemented in Ireland are shown in Table 2.
Most of the options in Table 2 are subject to a conversion factor where that item is deemed to be more advantageous than just its own footprint area. Many are also subject to a weighting factor which could be greater than or less than the actual or converted areas.
For example, one linear metre of a qualifying hedgerow is equal to 10m2 of EFA area (Table 3), i.e. it is given an effective area of 10 square meters per linear meter, providing it qualifies. There is still a lack of certainty as to what qualifies as a hedgerow, but the indications are that it will have to contain woody material.
The use of these conversion and weighting factors will assist growers to meet their EFA requirements, especially from hedges and drains. The conversion and weighting factors used to calculate the EFA are shown in Table 3.
If you have 100m of qualifying hedgerow, it will provide 100 x 10 = 1,000m2 of EFA on a dividing hedge (5m on both sides) and 500 m2 if it is a boundary hedge.
Land lying fallow is treated on a one-to-one basis – 1ha of fallow equals 1ha of EFA. However, fallow must have been involved in a crop rotation during the previous five years.
If you are growing protein crops, then 1ha of crop will only provide 0.7ha of EFA (this started out at 0.3ha). Green cover over winter (not just regrowth) will provide 0.3ha/ha. But green cover used for crop diversification cannot be used to support your EFA obligation. Additional green cover will need to be put in place if both crop diversification and EFA are being provided by this option.
Protein payment
Given the search for viable crop options to meet the new crop diversification requirements, the confirmation of a coupled payment for nitrogen fixing crops announced by Minister Coveney last week is very welcome. The minister announced that a €3m fund has been set aside to recouple protein crops and encourage native protein production.
The recoupling of aid for protein crops was allowed under the rules of the new CAP, which allowed member states to use part of their national ceiling to introduce a coupled aid for protein crops. The objective of this is to counteract the huge dependence on imported protein within the EU for use in animal feeds and this is also an issue in Ireland.
The new €3m fund for coupled protein crop production will operate from 2015. The payment rate will be a maximum of €250/ha. However, if the total area applied for under the scheme is greater than the fund, then the payment per hectare will be reduced in that scheme year to reflect a €3m maximum payout. The protein crops eligible for this coupled aid will be peas, beans and sweet lupins.
The Minister indicated that this incentive should help develop the protein sector through improved varieties and husbandry. And an increased supply of natively produced protein would give Irish livestock farmers the opportunity to use more native protein feed and increase the “greenness” and authenticity of our exported products.
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